Acer Unleashes the Potential of “BeingWare” at Computex 2016

Acer announced that it will showcase its BeingWare™ vision, which encompasses vertical business models with intelligent connected devices, at Computex 2016. As the “Internet of Things” evolves into the “Internet of Beings,” a human-centric network based on a collective of intelligence is necessary to make the swarms of smart devices more meaningful. The “Things” or devices not only require a reliable communication link to the cloud, which Acer’s BYOC™1 platform provides, but also integration with services, empowering BeingWare applications to provide user-centric services and solutions that know, serve, and grow with the user.

BeingWare Connects Cars

To help accelerate the development of connected cars, Acer announced abMax01, a new car IoT module which acts as a gateway to the cloud. The turnkey solution for automotive manufacturers enables secure fleet management and big-data analysis, allowing control centers to optimize operations by analyzing and processing streaming data in real-time, and even predicting the need of maintenance before failure through machine learning.

The module accommodates an integrated SIM card to give IT managers flexibility in bringing existing hardware systems to the cloud, and allows them to deploy over-the-air (OTA) software and firmware updates in both commercial and consumer-use scenarios: automobile navigation map updates, gaming machine updates, new songs on karaoke machines and music player systems, to name a few. This advanced management method saves system integrators countless hours of manual updates by providing a convenient way to maintain fleets of vehicles via the BYOC platform.

BeingWare Powers Smart Cities

Acer’s showcase at Computex 2016 offers a glimpse into what’s possible on the industrial side of things under the BeingWare vision with two partner projects showcasing Smart City applications. The first application includes cloud-connected street lamps with smart management to monitor energy usage and lower power consumption, while also featuring object detection to intelligently turn on or off, and environmental monitoring (air quality, temperature, humidity, noise and more) to send precise data back to the municipal service center. The second application shows Acer’s BYOC module built into industrial air tanks for safe monitoring; by sending data over the cloud reduces service hours in the field (manpower) while also lowers risks by keeping workers out of potentially dangerous situations.

BeingWare for Home Appliances

A number of BYOC consumer applications will also be on display at Computex 2016. A bread maker is in this year’s lineup to demonstrate how consumers can use the cloud to start their favorite recipe so it is ready and fresh by the time they wake up, and also fine-tune the taste to their liking with recipes from the cloud. A smart tracker can help users keep tabs on their loved ones, be it elders, children, or even pets, with geo-fencing alerts to know when they wander off limits, and an emergency button to call for help when needed. BYOC provides device and appliance manufacturers with a one-stop-shop to connect to the cloud, from the hardware embedded to connect, worldwide infrastructure connectivity, OTA firmware updates solutions, and big-data analytics and dashboards.

Acer CloudProfessor: Now Featuring Scratch

Lauded for its CloudProfessor IoT education kit, Acer was nominated for a “Best Mobile Innovation for Education” at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona earlier this year. Building on this success, Acer has introduced new CloudProfessor kits running on Windows 10, which adds support for the student-friendly Scratch programming language. A variety of new CloudProfessor kits for Windows 10 with Gigo construction brick themes such as Ball Bot, Robot Man, Scorpio Bot, and many more new hardware will be on display during Computex.

Exploring the Potential of BeingWare

The potential of BeingWare is set to explore the world of virtual reality with the announcement of Starbreeze AB and Acer Inc. in signing a letter of intent to form a joint venture for head mounted displays (HMD). The two companies aim to cooperate on bringing the StarVR HMD to the professional- and location-based entertainment market, an exemplary of the BeingWare business model that integrates hardware, software and services for vertical markets.

Visit the BeingWare Showcase

Please visit the BeingWare showcase at Acer’s booth #M0420 at 4F Nangang Exhibition Hall during Computex Taipei 2016 (May 31 to June 4) to find out more and have some hands-on time with the new technology.

Fjordan Allego aka Fjordz is an IT Security Professional wannabee in the Philippines. He maintains a couple of blogs where he shares his views on various topics that he finds interesting. A self-confessed introvert who's mostly active in social media, Fjordz also loves to travel and explore the wonders of the world.